By TeeJay Small
| Published 6 seconds ago

As a budding film nerd in the late aughts to the early 2010s, no filmmaker fascinated me more than Quentin Tarantino. His use of over-the-top violence, foul language, and intricate storylines provided enough style, substance, and rule-breaking energy to make me seek out each and every one of his works. By the time Netflix started dominating movie-watching culture, I had already binged nearly every Tarantino flick via On Demand, Blockbuster video rental, or Playstation Store digital purchase.

While I enjoyed each of these films, one particular entrant into the Tarantino pantheon left me with more questions than answers. The film in question: 1997’s Jackie Brown. The movie is considered the third Quentin Tarantino project, since the filmmaker has a strange obsession with numbering his films and retiring when he gets to 10. It’s an excellent crime drama with a few humorous elements, and lots of the usual suspects for a Tarantino picture. Still, many elements of the film stand out like a sore thumb when compared to his other creations.

A Rare Tarantino Adaptation

For starters, Jackie Brown is based on a 1992 novel called Rum Punch. Tarantino rarely releases adaptations of existing works. When he does, he usually changes the source material so much that it becomes something new entirely. We’re talking about a guy who made a World War 2 movie that concluded with Hitler getting turned into Swiss cheese by a pair of machine gun-wielding American soldiers. In the case of Jackie Brown though, the only notable difference is the swapping of the title character’s race.

Jackie Brown is also a lot more subdued than other movies in the Tarantinoverse. Sure, there are guns, drugs, and bags of money changing hands, but there’s something much more subtle about the ways that the characters interact with each other. Samuel L. Jackson‘s Ordell seems to be a de facto guardian for a young woman, but hardly bats an eye when she’s killed off simply for being a nuisance. Robert De Niro also plays his role in a very stripped back, muted sort of way, free of the usual top-of-the-lung screaming that you’d find in a “best acting compilation” on YouTube.

Powerhouse Protagonist

One of the most jarring instances of restraint is the climax of Robert Forster’s growing attraction to Pam Grier’s title character. After a whole movie of flirting, longing, and stolen glances, the pair share a single peck on the lips and part ways, presumably never to see each other again. It’s raw, it’s genuine, and it’s distinctly unlike Quentin Tarantino.

The film doesn’t have buckets of blood raining from the ceiling like The Hateful Eight. It doesn’t feature a historical element that splits the narrative from our real world like Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. It does contain dozens of uses of the N word, a favorite for Quentin Tarantino, though even that is handled more tastefully than the director’s extremely awkward cameo in Pulp Fiction.

Not Your Typical Tarantino

None of this is to say that Jackie Brown is a bad movie. On the contrary, it’s actually fantastic, as long as you don’t go in expecting the usual over-the-top Tarantino insanity. I might have lamented how the shot composition feels dated in my teenage years, but today I can respect the film for creating a very distinct energy, which I haven’t seen captured anywhere else.

If you haven’t had the chance to see Jackie Brown just yet, now might be the perfect time, since it’s currently streaming for free on Plex. I wouldn’t necessarily place it among Tarantino’s greatest works like Inglourious Basterds or Django Unchained, but it has a very distinct identity that makes it well worth the price of admission. If you’re interested in getting into Tarantino’s back catalogue and don’t know where to start, this movie might actually introduce you to a few of his go-to tricks without wearing them out all at once.

General Hospital fans, we’ve got a brand new leak for you from a trusted source and there’s a lot to talk about including several deaths, multiple pregnancies, a huge recast, a couple of exits and a kidnapping. We know one of the pregnancies for sure is Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr), but two more are coming.

Again, anytime we have a leak, I always want to make clear, this is not a confirmed spoiler. It’s a leak from a source with ties behind the scenes at GH and they have a good track record.

From their leaks, we reported way ahead of time that Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) killed Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco), that Chad Duell was leaving, that Kirsten Storms was going out on a personal leave, and lots of other goodies. So, let’s jump in.

General Hospital LEAK: Three Pregnancies Coming to Port Charles

First, let’s talk babies. We know for sure that Portia is pregnant and Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) is the father of her child. But Portia’s still moving forward with her romance with Dr. Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) and her divorce from Curtis.

Meanwhile, Jordan Ashford (Tanisha Harper) just asked Curtis to move in with her now that he gave the house to Portia. And she invited Isaiah to stay with her anytime. Meanwhile, Curtis agreed to move in with Jordan but she’s keeping a big secret.

She met with Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) for her annual check up since Jordan’s only got one kidney. She told Britt she suspected she might be pregnant but they got interrupted before she could run a test on Jordan. So, she bought a pregnancy test but hasn’t taken it.

And she didn’t tell Curtis that she suspects she might be pregnant. That has me very suspicious that Jordan might’ve had a lover she was hooking up with right before she and Curtis starting hooking up at the beginning of 2026.

So, I expect Jordan might be the second pregnancy. As for the third, well, a brand new leak says that Britt turns up pregnant. We know that Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) exits by the end of the month and our leaker says he’s kidnapped.

We’ll talk more about that in a few, but first, let’s finish the baby talk. So, another leak said that Steve Burton wasn’t happy with his current storyline and they were considering putting Jason with a new love interest.

The latest leak says that he’s not getting a new partner—and I mean, that makes sense. An actor can want something but that doesn’t mean the showrunners and writers will consider or accommodate it.

So, the leaker says Britt will turn up pregnant with Jason’s baby. And here’s what’s kind of awful. This leak says that one of the babies won’t survive. I honestly don’t want to speculate too much on how that may happen but Jordan’s one kidney makes her high risk.

Director Cullum Kidnaps Jason Morgan on GH

Now let’s talk kidnapping. First, the leaker says Jason will teasingly tell his son Danny Morgan (Asher Antonyzyn) that he had his will updated. That’s funny up until Jason goes missing. We reported in a prior leak that Jason was going to be kidnapped.

We heard at the time it would not be by Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) or Marco Rios (Adrian Anchondo). The latest leak says that it’s WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) who kidnaps Jason. And honestly, that makes a lot of sense. Cullum already threatened Jason when talking to Britt.

Cullum told Britt she had to cut ties with Jason and focus on Faison’s final project or else. And Britt didn’t stop seeing Jason. She’s just seeing him behind closed doors. But Britt also showed up at the Corinthos Coffee Warehouse.

Jason said her showing up was a bad idea and Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) told her to sneak out so she’s not spotted. But I’m guessing since the WSB has all sorts of surveillance all over town, that Cullum will know that Britt’s still seeing Jason.

And this week, Marco tells Lucas Jones (Ryan Carnes) he’s willing to risk everything, even his relationship with his dad. Marco doesn’t want to lose Lucas. And he wants Marco to steal a dose of Britt’s meds. So, Cullum may take drastic action soon.

And he may snatch Jason but not kill him. Why would Cullum waste a potential asset since the WSB’s wanted him for a long time? Plus, Jason was a mercenary for Pikeman for a while and since Cullum’s dirty WSB, he probably knows all about that.

Four Deaths Coming to General Hospital

Okay, now let’s talk deaths because we’ve heard there’s four, aside from the baby that was in the latest leak. We know they’re going to kill off Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) and Lesley Webber (Denise Alexander) offscreen, so I’d assumed those were two of the four.

But sometimes GH goes a little wild and takes out a bunch of characters. The Hook Killer, AKA Heather Webber (Alley Mills) killed several people as did Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom). The Text Message Killer, Diego Alcazar killed many people.

They’ve also had a villain contaminate the water supply that killed several people and a hostage crisis at the Metro Court that took out people and a fire at the hotel as well. So, we could get four deaths off something big—like this cold fusion thing Britt’s working on.

I could see Sidwell dying, maybe Cullum, and Pascal getting a dirt nap would be fine too. And if they go that route, they might also kill off Marco and leave Lucas utterly devastated and position him for a reunion with Brad Cooper (Parry Shen).

Chase and Josslyn Exits Plus Recast Rumors

Also, the leaker re-confirmed that Josh Swickard is exiting as Harrison Chase and that Eden McCoy would exit as Josslyn. But the leaker also reiterated that General Hospital will be recasting the role after Eden McCoy leaves.

There have been no suggested exit dates for either of them and again, this is all still rumor until the actors or General Hospital officially confirms it. One last tidbit is a really wild one.

The leaker shared a while back that someone at ABC suggested they bring back Kelly Monaco as Sam. And then followed that up with additional info saying Frank Valentini rejected it. There’s a lot of rumored bad blood between them.

And now, the leaker said to listen for increasing instances of Sam being name dropped from April to June. So, I guess if that happens and we hear Sam’s name coming up over and over, that may be a red flag that part of the leak may come true.

Bold and the Beautiful thrills as Katie Logan‘s (Heather Tom) big debut fashion show for Logan and we know Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) and Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) show up uninvited and crash it so that’s a recipe for chaos.

We’re going to talk about how Katie’s big moment at the Logan fashion show may be sabotaged by Brooke and her hubby and turn into a wild family feud that could damage both Logan and Forrester Creations.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge Loses it

Ok so, we know from official Bold and the Beautiful spoilers that Ridge, Brooke, Katie, and Bill Spencer (Don Diamont) have dinner together but things go sideways and they all end up arguing. Over at Brooke’s house, we’ll have Ridge and Brooke extending an olive branch to Katie.

But it might be more of an insult than a peace offering. And then Ridge flies off the handle and starts yelling at Bill. And then by the end of the week, we have Brooke and Ridge crashing Katie’s press conference and you know they don’t show up with good intentions.

We also know that Bill tells Katie that the designs belong to them and they’re using them. That might be what inspires Ridge and Brooke to crash and make a scene because Ridge thinks those designs should be property of Forrester Creations.

Bold and the Beautiful: Ridge and Brooke May Accuse Katie of Stealing Designs

Let’s talk about what Ridge and Brooke might do to ruin Katie’s big day. First, Ridge and Brooke may tell the press at the launch that the designs on the runway are stolen. They may accuse Katie and Bill of using designs that are the rightful property of Forrester Creations.

Ridge already made it clear he wants those designs. He and Brooke made a lot of unfounded accusations about Katie using Eric Forrester (John McCook) when he’s the one who insisted she hire him. We still haven’t seen Katie, Ridge, Bill, Brooke and Eric all together hashing this out properly.

They May Claim Katie Stole from Eric Forrester on B&B

Second, I expect Ridge and Brooke to not only say that Katie and Bill hijacked designs that belong to Forrester Creations, but even worse, they stole them from the iconic Eric Forrester. Even though that’s not true because Bill paid Eric to create custom designs for Katie.

In fact, it was Eric himself who insisted he’d be Katie’s short-term lead designer. And he didn’t just use the existing collection he’d designed. Eric made a whole new set of designs. But if Brooke and Ridge tell the fashion press they’re stolen, that could ruin Katie’s company.

Bold and the Beautiful: Brooke May Accuse Katie of Stealing the Logan Trademark

Third, to make matters even worse, I can also see Brooke making a big scene and accusing Katie of stealing the Logan trademark even though she absolutely did not. In fact, Forrester Creations never once used the name Logan as a brand and its trademark was not in use.

Then, on top of that, Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) let the registration lapse. So, Katie didn’t steal it—she claimed it. And literally, anyone could’ve registered Logan as a trademark once it lapsed. And it is Katie’s last name. Like when the Kardashians all use their last name.

But Ridge and Brooke keep saying she stole the trademark. You can’t just squat on a trademark name and not use it, by the way, that’s federal law. I know fans are torn about who has the right to use the Logan name. But legally, both Katie and Brooke have the right.

We could see Katie shocked if Brooke starts the accusations in front of the media to humiliate Katie and sabotage her launch.

Bold and the Beautiful: They May Accuse Katie of Working Eric to Death

The fourth thing we could see Ridge and Brooke do to humiliate Katie is accuse her and Bill of targeting Eric and how Katie and Bill worked Eric almost to death. Brooke and Ridge may say that Katie ran Eric so hard and stressing him so much that he collapsed.

John McCook said in a recent interview that Eric doesn’t have an underlying health condition, it was just the stress of all the family bickering. Heck, Ridge could even say Katie tried to kill Eric because he already accused her of that even though it’s totally bogus.

Eric May Show Up to Set the Record Straight

Fifth and finally, Ridge and Brooke might find the script flipped on them. This is what I’m really hoping to see. As Ridge and Brooke are making Katie and Bill look terrible in front of the fashion media and their invited guests, it’d be wild if Eric shows up to set things straight.

Ridge said he felt bad for treating his father like a child but then went behind Eric’s back to do it again, telling Katie and Bill that the designs aren’t theirs, Eric isn’t going to work with them and again accusing them of stealing Logan and taking advantage of the Forresters on Bold and the Beautiful.

No matter whose side you’re on, Brooke or Katie’s, facts are facts and Eric did approach Katie and basically told her he’d be her lead designer. Katie tried to tell him no because it would cause problems and yet Eric still insisted. That was his choice.

I expect Ridge and Brooke are going to make a scene slinging slanted information along with some outright false accusations. I don’t think Eric’s going to let Ridge get away with this. Because he told Katie he’d make sure she got launched.

Bold and the Beautiful: Katie’s Big Launch

And despite Eric’s little breathing issue, he’s still committed to her so I’d like to think he won’t let Ridge and Brooke get away with ruining everything for Katie. And honestly, if Ridge and Brooke are misrepresenting things with Eric, he’ll want to set the record straight.

Brooke and Ridge trying to wreck Katie’s big Logan launch is likely going to finish breaking Brooke and Katie’s relationship. I think Bill may advise Katie to cut Brooke off completely after this press conference stunt.

We’ll see what happens, but it seems extremely unlikely that Ridge and Brooke are crashing the press conference to say nice things about Katie and her new company. No, they are there to make trouble and there’s no telling what Brooke and Ridge might say.

With VIPs there and lots of fashion journalists on hand, this is a really rotten thing to do but I’m sure Brooke and Ridge will feel justified in what they’re doing. And that’s why I hope Eric shows up to clear things up and put Ridge and Brooke in their place for deciding things for him again.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 46 seconds ago

Pop quiz, Star Trek nerds: who’s your favorite character from The Next Generation? There are plenty of potential answers out there: the suave and sophisticated Picard, the debonair and dashing Riker, the quirky-but-brilliant Data, and so on. Few fans would pick minor character Barclay, but it turns out that he almost became one of the most important characters in all of Star Trek.

You see, Dwight Schultz reprised his Barclay role in Star Trek: Voyager, beginning with the episode “Projections.” That episode heavily featured Robert Picardo’s fan-favorite Doctor character, and Picardo spent a significant amount of time acting alongside Schultz. The two had such amazing chemistry together, causing episode writer Brannon Braga to give them the highest praise possible. Namely, he suggested that Picardo and Schultz should headline their own Star Trek spinoff series.

From Deflectors To Projectors

In case you don’t have a holodeck handy, here’s a quick recap of “Projections:” after Voyager gets attacked by the Kazon, the Doctor must tend to the injuries of the crew.  However, he soon discovers that he has injuries of his own, something that should be impossible because he is a hologram rather than flesh and blood. He is made to believe that he is the human creator of the Emergency Medical Hologram, Lewis Zimmerman, which is corroborated by Reginald Barclay. The former TNG supporting character claims the Doctor must destroy the ship to escape this program, but he eventually learns that doing so may actually get him killed.

While fans generally liked Dwight Schultz on The Next Generation, he played a very minor character, and he didn’t have particularly great chemistry with anyone. However, several big names who worked on Voyager’s “Projections” remarked that he had absolutely amazing chemistry with Robert Picardo. Nobody was more impressed by the two of them than episode writer Brannon Braga, who remarked (as recorded in Captains’ Logs Supplemental – The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages) that “Those two were so good together they should have a spin-off series.”

Additionally, “Projections” was directed by The Next Generation star Jonathan Frakes, who did such a good job that this episode helped him land the gig to direct Star Trek: First Contact. Regarding the onscreen chemistry between Picardo and Schultz, the Riker actor didn’t mince words. He claimed (as recorded in Star Trek Communicator) that the two “were brilliant together.”

The Ultimate Tachyon Teamup

Of course, nobody enjoyed the experience of Dwight Schultz’s Voyager cameo quite as much as Robert Picardo. In an interview with Star Trek Monthly, the actor claimed that he and Schultz “knew a lot of the same people in New York City, spent a lot of time doing silly voices and cracked each other up on the set.” When they weren’t actively shooting, the two of them “just reminisced about our pasts in New York City and talked about the theater, which is what stage-trained actors tend to do when they get together.” Picardo would later gush that, thanks to Schultz’s presence, shooting “Projections” felt like one big party.

Obviously, a Doctor/Barclay spinoff series never materialized, but it’s not hard to see why Brannon Braga wanted to make it so. These two were so great in “Projections” that they impressed just about everyone, including Jonathan Frakes, the greatest director the franchise has ever known. While he didn’t get to co-headline his own spinoff series, Schultz got the ultimate consolation prize: extensive cameos in the final two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.

It may be time for HBO to turn in its fantasy badge and devote its resources to something a little more realistic. For years, the platform has been capitalizing on the Game of Thrones brand, but it is delivering far more interesting and compelling drama with the Brad Ingelsby universe of gritty mysteries. His best work premiered in 2021, harnessing the common trope of the grizzled detective and making something original.

Mare of Easttown stars Kate Winslet as the titular Delco area detective sergeant, grappling with more than just her case. While investigating the death of a 17-year-old teen mother, Erin (Cailee Spaeny), she also faces personal challenges at home. Ingelsby effortlessly weaves together a mystery with genuine twists and turns in the perfect timeframe of seven episodes. Mare of Easttown is the character-driven series that started a wave of similar shows, such as Ingelsby’s follow-up, Task.

‘Mare of Easttown’ Kept Fans Guessing

The last time HBO connected with audiences on a mystery series was the universally beloved first season of True Detective. The streaming landscape has changed since then, but the small-town detective is still a metric that works. This time, Mare of Easttown took the concept, stripping away its supernatural-adjacent story, and told a story more grounded in the female experience. Mare is a detective in the grips of grief after the suicide of her son. At the same time, she takes on the added pressure of raising her grandson, Drew, while his mother is in rehab. This tragedy destroyed her marriage and led to issues with her daughter, Siobhan (Angourie Rice).

Mare of Easttown shows the full picture of a woman in distress, without the trappings of Hollywood beauty standards. Mare’s mental state is shown both through events in the narrative and in how she carries herself. These subtleties were important to Winslet, who wanted to show Mare’s grief throughout her journey in the series.

The mystery in Mare of Easttown is also a standout, which keeps viewers guessing until its final moments. Before Cailee Spaeny’s breakout in A24 projects Priscilla and Civil War, she expressed heartbreaking vulnerability as Erin, the series’ murdered teen. The first episode takes its time introducing audiences to the complex cast of characters before getting to the crime at hand. In the small area of Easttown, everyone has grown up together and knows one another. The ties that bind are close in the area, making it heartbreaking when Erin is murdered. Spaeny is impeccable as a teen who struggles with young motherhood, and she never gets the chance to overcome her struggles because her life is cut too short.

These close bonds are more revealing about the murderer’s identity than anything else. Mare of Easttown delivers gripping red herrings that make the final reveal shocking. Fans responded overwhelmingly to the series, calling for a second season even though it was initially marketed as a limited series. HBO Max may be listening, as Season 2 appears to have been confirmed tentatively to shoot in 2027. Until then, fans can devour the perfect seven episodes of this mystery series.

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Release Date

2021 – 2021-00-00

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Network

HBO

Showrunner

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Brad Ingelsby

Writers

Brad Ingelsby

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  Kate Winslet

  Marianne ‘Mare’ Sheehan

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